McCabe, Ginder lead Barons at Leagues

Cade Ginder plans to graduate from Manheim Central this spring and continue his education at a trade school for gunsmithing to learn custom repair.

Saturday, he learned another lesson or two about guns.

Ginder placed eighth in the Lancaster-Lebanon League Rifle Championship at Conestoga Valley High School, finishing one place behind teammate Gage McCabe. Both shot a 198-2C, but McCabe edged Ginder on back points 2-1.

After placing third in the tournament the previous two years, this was not the outcome Ginder wanted, but it shows how good the competition was this season, as his score was only one point behind his previous scores, he said.

The senior saw the error of his ways.

“I did alright,” Ginder said. “I could have done better, but I’m happy with what I got. I thought I did rush a little bit and shooting two targets is different.”

For the league tournament, shooters shoot at two 10-meter air rifle targets during a 20-minute time limit. Time management and calm nerves are keys to success.

In the regular season shooters shoot at one target, not two. Some shooters and coaches believe the second target is a game changer.

“You have to manage your time better,” Ginder said. “I think I went a little faster than normal. I needed to slow down.”

Lesson learned.

McCabe, a sophomore, was happy with 7th place in his first L-L Championship and is excited about his future in the sport.

“I think I did pretty well,” he said. “I wasn’t as nervous as I was in pairs. There are a couple of shots I wish I could have back.”

With the third highest average on the team at 99.0, he was surprised by how well he scored this year.

“I thought I was a decent shooter, but glad I shot well this year,” he said.

Ginder finished the season with the highest average at 99.50, senior Austin Rhodes was second with a 99.25 average and junior Charles Miller was fourth with a 98.92 average. All four were named to the L-L League All-Star team.

This kind of depth and shooters consistently averaging in the 98.6 to 99.5 range propelled Manheim Central to the league’s regular season title with an 11-3 record. The regular season came down to the last match against CV. The Barons won the match and also had the highest point average, averaging a score of 496.1.

“I think we all did our part,” Ginder said about the Baron’s regular season success. “Guys could count on each other. We were there to pick each other up.”

The regular season success did not carry over to the league championship, as MC placed third with a 984-6C score, losing to eventual champion Elizabethtown, which posted a 992-9C score.

What happened?

“Hard to say,” Barons coach Steve Waddington said. “We shot extremely well Friday at practice, but it didn’t carry over to (Saturday). Nerves probably played a factor.”

In addition to McCabe and Ginder, Miller shot a 197, Dawson Good a 196-2C, Rhodes 195 and Alex Stone a 194 on Saturday.

Waddington said the league was very competitive this season with Manheim Twp., Ephrata, E-town and CV all very close. Central came out on the positive end in many of those matches because of consistency and being persistent, moving on after a difficult loss to the next match, he said.

In a regular season match, nine players shoot and the top five scores count. In Saturday’s tournament only six shooters compete. If someone has an off day, it is more difficult to make up that score.

“Here, with only six spots, if someone has a bad day it is tough to bounce back to pick each other up,” Waddington said.

He said he was impressed with the season Ginder had, noting that the senior came on strong at the end of the year with four straight 100 scores. McCabe, he said, was consistent all year.